Berks County Register Of Wills

Berks County Register Of Wills

About The Register Of Wills/Clerk Of Orphans' Court

The Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan's Court is an elected official who serves as a dual officeholder and whose primary function is to determine whether the document offered for probate should be received as the last will of the decedent. When disputes arise at the time of probate, the Register, as a quasi-judicial officer, is empowered to hold hearings, take testimony, review evidence and render decisions on how the administration of the estate shall proceed.

Responsibilities as Clerk of Orphan's Court include maintaining the docket and files for adoptions, guardianships and other issues which may come before the Orphans' Court Judge, as well as taking applications for, and issuing, marriage licenses.

Finally, the Register of Wills is a mandated keeper of all records filed here, and since those records must be kept forever, the office is a great resource for genealogical information.

News / Announcements

General Announcements

Marriage License Applicants
Priority is being given to Berks County residents at this time.
Probate of Estates
View the Probate of Estates page describing the procedures necessary to open any new estates.
PA Inheritance Tax Payments & Returns
Tax returns and payments may be mailed via US mail, FedEX or hand delivered to the office, as usual, or they may be placed in a drop box in the lobby of the Services Center.
Marriage Certifications
Marriage Certifications can be requested by emailing us, US mail, or by phone at 610-478-6600 subject to the hours above.

News

Research Center
The Research Center is closed. To conduct research please call 610-478-6600 to schedule an appointment subject to the hours of operation.
New Fee Schedules Effective 1/12/2022
Please be advised that effective January 12, 2022, pursuant to 42 P.S. Section 21022.1, the Register of Wills will be implementing a new Bill of Costs for the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court.

Information and Resources

Forms

The following is a list of interactive forms available for printing. These forms may be duplicated as required or filled out online and printed. To complete form directly in your web-browser, simply "tab" through the form and fill in the appropriate information. Please note that the forms are scanned in "PDF" format, thereby requiring Adobe Reader software to be installed on your computer. This program is available free of charge at the following website: https://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Notice of Intention to Appeal from the Decision of the Register
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Entry of Appearance
View

Bond and Surety of Personal Representative
View
Waiver of Fiduciary Bond
View
Informal Caveat
View
Affidavit of Foreign Fiduciary
View
Inventory
View
Certification of Notice under Rule 10.5
View
Filed Pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 3532
View
Petition for Grant of Letters
View
Renunciation
View
Settlement of Small Estates under 20 Pa. C.S.A. 3102
View
Status Report under Rule 6.12
View
Oath of Witness to Will executed by Mark
View
Oath of Non-subscribing Witness
View
Oath of Subscribing Witness executed before a Notary Public
View
Oath of Subscribing Witness executed before the Register of Wills
View
Oath of Unavailability of Subscribing Witness
View


Links

The #1 source for family history online
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Non-profit organization established in 1980 to collect, preserve & disseminate genealogical data
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Collection of informative genealogical links
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Home page of the Berks County Hitorical Society
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The Internet's oldest & largest genealogy resource
Home page for the State of Pennsylvania
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